YouTuber Harrison Webb compared Greggs to one of London’s poshest bakeries to determine whether you really do get what you pay for, even if it does add up to hundreds of pounds
It doesn’t get much more British than a Greggs sausage roll for your breakfast and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
However, one YouTuber recently embarked on a unique quest where he compared our beloved Greggs with the most expensive bakery in London – Cedric Grolet in Knightsbridge. Harrison Webb tried a variety of options in each before considering things like price, service, ingredients and available dishes. Before going for a posh breakfast, his first stop was Greggs, and he made a salient point: “If you don’t know about Greggs I don’t think you’re British.”
Determined to try a range of food and drink treats, he ordered an espresso coffee, a margherita pizza slice, a sausage roll, an original glazed donut and a Tottenham cake.
After being told this would set him back £8.80, he told the camera: “That’s brilliant. I’m kind of impressed already. It doesn’t even need to taste good. I know that the sausage roll tastes elite. Where in London can you get five things and a coffee for under a tenner?”
However, after having his £1.90 espresso, he said: “That’s actually not that great. Ah… I wanted it to be good. I don’t think of myself as a coffee connoisseur but it is not the best coffee I have ever had.”
He said he would happily pay more for better quality elsewhere and he added that he would never order an espresso from Greggs again.
However, the glazed donut, Tottenham cake and sausage roll all ranked much higher, and despite not loving the pizza, he said it was hard to argue with the convenience for just £2.50 a slice.
Summing up his experience, he said: “We got five things for under a tenner, coffee not the best, ok, but you are grabbing a few treats, a few desserts, I think that’s great. I am going to rate it a 4 (out of 5).”
So, with a high Google score of 4, how will French pasty chef Cedric Grolet compare at his posh café and patisserie at The Berkeley hotel in Wilton Place?
Harrison made some immediate observations when entering Cedric Grolet – the first being that he did not expect to see a bouncer in a bakery.
The next thing, which mostly did not come as a surprise, were the prices. A double expresso, available for £8, would have cost almost the same as his entire Greggs order.
But what really floored the content creator was the cost of a chocolate chip cookie, which set him back £17.
And after taking a bite, he told the camera: “I am trying to be polite, because I really like the people here, but it doesn’t alter the review. I have had better. Definitely had cheaper.”
And speaking directly to one of the workers, he said: “I feel like there’s pressure but I am going to be honest with you. It is good. [But] with a cookie I’m feeling like I’m wanting it sweeter.”
Later he advised his 1 million subscribers not to come just for the cookie, and that the fruit and fancy croissants were much more worth it.
He bought a fruit plate for £22 and it came with a selection of berries, passion fruit, pineapple, apple, kiwi and mango. Despite the hefty fee, he said it was the best mango he had ever had in London.
He also indulged in a wagyu truffle croissant, which was a staggering £53.
Harrison acknowledged that it was delicious but he asked: “I just wanna know who is coming in here and ordering this? I feel like they do this for TikTokers surely. Who comes and gets that for lunch? I feel like I am in a high end restaurant and not a bakery.”
He then tried lots of different treats including a waffle flower which he said was like a deep fried donut but far from sickly.
The popular YouTuber also said the experience, where he was seated by the chef’s station, felt like a masterclass and after trying a chai latte, he gushed: “I imagine that’s what heaven tastes like – silky, frothy, sexy.”
His bill, believe it or not, came to £337, which included a £40 service charge, and he said: “They know it is expensive as well, you are going there for an experience. If you are into food, I would always recommend doing that counter seating.”
He acknowledged that the average 3.5 review on Google was, in his opinion, harsh, and that people were most likely marking it down because of how expensive it is.
However, he scored it at a 4.2, and he said: “The staff were lovely, experience, quality of ingredients… Cookie? I wouldn’t get that again.”
To watch Harrison’s full video, you can do so here
